“What nonsense are you spouting?! I’ll tear that filthy mouth of yours!!!” Zhou Yun didn’t give Xiaolin’s Mother a chance to continue.
As she spoke, she charged toward Xiaolin’s Mother.
The two women instantly tangled in a fight.
The courtyard was in chaos, and more onlookers gathered outside the gate.
Among the spectators was Xiaolin’s Mother’s nephew. Seeing that it was actually Xiaolin’s Mother who was being beaten, he immediately rushed in.
Xu Cheng decisively pushed Xu Changxia and Xu Fangfei aside, saying, “You two, step back! Don’t get hurt!”
After speaking, he hurried over to restrain Xiaolin’s Mother’s nephew.
A few old neighbors nearby, seeing the situation escalate, also joined in to break up the fight, and the whole group descended into turmoil.
Xiaolin’s Mother’s nephew was young and strong, and Xu Cheng, standing in the middle, took several blows.
“Xiaxia, your uncle!” Xu Fangfei couldn’t even squeeze into the crowd, forced to watch helplessly, her eyes red with anxiety.
Seeing Xu Cheng struggling to stay on his feet amid the crowd and realizing the situation was about to spiral out of control, Xu Changxia hesitated for a few seconds before pulling Xu Fangfei aside and saying, “Mom, don’t panic! Ride the bike to the police station across the street and report this!”
The police station was less than a five-minute bike ride away.
With things having come to this, they now had to get the police to come and mediate the fight.
First, it could save Xu Cheng.
Second, once the whole incident was investigated, everything Zhou Yun had done would surely come to light.
By then, Xu Cheng would finally see the true face of the woman he had trusted wholeheartedly for over twenty years!
She was determined to make Zhou Yun apologize to Xu Fangfei for all the absurd things she had done over the years!
A good person’s weakness was no excuse to tolerate a villain’s boundless bullying!
“Alright!” Xu Fangfei thought for a moment. Although family scandals shouldn’t be aired in public, this was the only option now.
Xu Changxia pushed the bicycle to Xu Fangfei, then turned and rushed toward Xu Cheng.
Just then, someone suddenly shouted, “Hey! Stop fighting! Someone’s going to get killed!!”
Xu Changxia watched in horror as Xiaolin’s Mother’s nephew picked up half a brick from the ground, leaped up, and hurled it toward Xu Cheng: “Damn you!”
Just as she was about to dash over and push Xu Cheng aside, someone suddenly grabbed her arm from behind, pulling her back two steps.
It happened in an instant—the brick flew past Xu Changxia’s temple.
Xu Changxia felt herself crash into a broad, sturdy embrace.
Still shaken, she turned to look and saw that the one who had pulled her back was none other than Jiang Yao.
Jiang Yao frowned deeply, his gaze fixed on the crowd as he whispered urgently, “What are you trying to prove, rushing in like that as a girl?”
As he spoke, he pulled Xu Changxia behind him.
Fortunately, he had arrived just in time—otherwise, Xu Changxia would have been badly hurt by that brick!
“Any more violence, and this becomes a criminal case!”
At Jiang Yao’s words, everyone in the courtyard stopped and fell silent.
On the ground nearby was a pool of blood, a frightening sight.
Worried that Xu Cheng might be injured, Xu Changxia stood on her tiptoes to get a better look into the crowd. Immediately, she spotted a familiar figure crouching on the ground, clutching his head as blood streamed down between his fingers.
She froze for two seconds before rushing over: “Third Uncle?!”
Xu Jin, the third son of the Xu family, had arrived at some point—no one knew when.
Xu Jin had taken that brick to shield his eldest brother Xu Cheng, and was now left dizzy and unable to stand, crouched on the ground. It wasn’t until Xu Changxia came over to help him up that he regained his senses. Looking up at her, he forced a smile and said, “It’s nothing, Xiaxia. Just a flesh wound.”
Xu Jin’s eyes were caked shut with blood, a sight that was truly shocking.
Beside them, Zhou Yun was so frightened she burst into tears. “Xiaolin’s nephew! Are you trying to kill someone?!”
Thankfully, the brick hadn’t landed on her or Xu Cheng’s heads!
Xiaolin’s nephew had seen his mother, Xiaolin’s Mother, losing the fight and, in a moment of panic, grabbed a loose brick from the corner of the wall and hurled it. Who would have thought it would hit Xu Jin on the head?
Given the situation, no one dared to make a sound.
Xu Changxia swiftly unwrapped the scarf from around her neck and tied it around Xu Jin’s head. After a moment’s thought, she turned to Xu Cheng, who was slumped on the ground nearby, and said, “I’ll take Third Uncle to the hospital first!”
No matter what, saving him was the priority.
Just as she was about to pull Xu Jin up from the ground, Jiang Yao stepped forward and said, “Let me.”
Without another word, he half-crouched in front of Xu Jin, hoisting him onto his back.
Outside, the deputy who had gone to book the restaurant had just returned and was stunned by the scene. He hurried over to help. “Sir, should… should I still hold the reservation at the restaurant?”
Jiang Yao glanced back at the chaotic courtyard, thought for a moment, and replied, “Stay here and help sort things out.”
“Yes, sir!”
Xu Changxia followed them into the car waiting at the mouth of the alley, sitting in the back seat with Xu Jin while Jiang Yao took the wheel.
The hospital was nearby, less than a ten-minute drive.
Yet to Xu Changxia, the journey felt slower than when she usually rode her bicycle there. Xu Jin’s blood slowly soaked through her scarf, staining her hands and clothes. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest.
“Don’t panic just yet. I took a look earlier—the wound isn’t large,” Jiang Yao said softly from the driver’s seat, watching Xu Changxia through the rearview mirror. “Deputy Lu will also help handle things at home.”
Xu Changxia’s eyes were red, but she remained silent.
It was only after living through her past life that Xu Changxia realized how important her family truly was.
Moreover, Xu Jin had always treated her well, genuinely caring for her as if she were his own daughter.
Over a decade ago, after their grandfather passed away, Xu Jin had briefly become the pillar of the family. Young, tall, and strong, he stayed in their remote town, tending to the nearly ten acres of land belonging to the Xu family. Almost all the hard and exhausting work fell on his shoulders alone.
Because of this, he missed his chance to marry at the appropriate age. Now thirty-six, he was still unmarried.
In her past life, Xu Jin had remained a bachelor his entire life. When he passed away in his fifties, Xu Changxia was abroad and couldn’t make it back in time to see him one last time.
While sorting through his belongings, she discovered that Xu Jin had long ago recorded his will on a voice recorder, leaving his meager savings and the old house in the rural town to Xu Changxia.
Unfortunately, at the time, Xu Changxia was entirely focused on trying to conceive. After handling Xu Jin’s funeral arrangements, she promptly sold the house and land and returned to the United States within days.
Looking back, Xu Changxia felt a deep sense of guilt. Now that something had happened to Xu Jin, she feared that the regrets of her past life might remain unresolved in this one as well.
Knowing how anxious Xu Changxia was, Jiang Yao didn’t say another word, pressing the accelerator to the floor.
They soon arrived at the hospital.
Only after the doctor had stitched and bandaged Xu Jin’s wound, and carefully examined him to confirm there was no intracranial bleeding, did Xu Changxia finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Are you really not feeling unwell anywhere?” Xu Changxia asked softly once more as she helped Xu Jin lie down on the hospital bed.
“Really not.” Xu Jin shook his head, grinning to reveal a set of bright white teeth. “Jiang Yao found the best department head to examine me. Don’t you trust that?”
“It’s not about trust.” Xu Changxia furrowed her brows tightly.
Xu Jin had passed away early in her previous life due to a second intracranial hemorrhage. There was a small blood clot in his brain that had been there for a long time.
Xu Changxia now suspected that this might be a lingering effect from the recent fight.
Beside them, Jiang Yao watched her worried expression and couldn’t help but frown deeply.
She herself was injured too—a patch of skin scraped raw on her forehead that she still hadn’t taken care of.
He silently stopped the doctor who was personally administering Xu Jin’s IV and pointed toward Xu Changxia’s forehead.
The doctor immediately understood, fetching iodine and cotton swabs.
“And the back of her right hand,” Jiang Yao said quietly, looking at Xu Changxia’s hand.
When Jiang Yihe had struck Xu Changxia that morning, she had blocked with her hand, leaving four bloody scratches on the back—something Jiang Yao hadn’t failed to notice.
Before the Xu family incident earlier, he had originally planned to bring her to the hospital.
Neither the Jiang family nor the Xu family had a place for her.
She was his fiancée. These people dared to humiliate her like this simply because they believed Jiang Yao wouldn’t care about this arranged marriage, wouldn’t care about this woman with whom he had no emotional foundation.
Yet, he would make them understand they were mistaken.